Resilient railway spike



Oct 10, 1,950 A. c. JACK 2,524,805

RESILIENT RAILWAY SPIKE Filed Marcfi 24, 1949 [MENTOR A1 zfiaz C gacfa .5 WMQ TW 1&5 W W i atented bct. i0,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EESILIENT RAILWAY SPIKE Arthur 0. Jack, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application March 24, 1949, Serial N 0. 83,144

9 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a resilient spike for use in association with railway ties to fasten tie plates and rails to the tie. The application herein is a continuation-in-part of my pending application Serial No. 32,579, filed June 12, 1948, which application has since become abandoned.

The general advantage of using a resilient spike for the above noted purpose has been recognized because of the fact that a resilient spike is capable of exerting a yielding force tending to provide a fastening of superior sort. Resilient spikes for fastening tie plates and rails in position, as used or proposed for use, have assumed various forms. Such prior art spikes have, however, each of them lacked some one or more of the advantageous features which are combined in the resilient railway spike of the present invention. Thus in use of certain of the prior art resilent spikes, it has been necessary to prepare holes in the ties and tie plates which are of specialized form or position in order that the resilient nature of the spike may be effective, or

in order that the tie should not be split when the spike is driven. Also certain of the resilient spikes used for fastening tie plates have been difficult to drive into place because of the fact that they do not present a solid striking head for driving, and also certain of the resilient spikes of the prior art are so formed that a specially shaped tool is required for their withdrawal when driven into place. Certain resilient spikes of the prior art are incapable of exerting a downward resilient pressure as well as a lateral pressure on the tie plate, and others which provide such feature are capable of exerting the pressure only when placed in a certain position, which maybe undesirable with respect to a tendency to split the tie, or for other practical reasons.

A primar object of my invention is to provide a tie plate spike capable of exerting lateral pressure against the walls of the tie plate hole which in its driven position exerts not only such lateral pressure, but also exerts a downward pressure on the tie plate at the spike hole therein, firmly and closel to engage the tie plate to the tie.

Another object of my invention is to provide a, spike of the above indicated sort which is formed to present a solid head for driving the spike and a gripping surface for a drawing tool which allows the spike to be pulled from the tie by means of a tool of usual and common construction.

Another object of the invention is to provide a resilient tie plate spike having a head portion 2 so formed that it limits bodily movement of its resilient members toward each other when the head of the spike is compressed laterally by driving.

Another object of my invention is to provide is of such form that it is eas to manufacture and' which is a simple coherent body requiring no assembly or adjustment in preparation for its use, and which is notsusceptible to deformation in handling or use.

Further objects of the invention will hereinafter appear.

Briefly to describe the primary features of the preferred form of resilient spike embodying my invention the spike is constructed Of a resilient metal band, preferably a steel band, shaped at the rearward or striking end to provide a driving head and forming a two-part shank. At the forward or entering end of the spike the terminals are brought close together and there is a rearward or upward extent of the shank in which the legs stand approximately parallel or diverge but slightly. Upwardly and rearwardly of this region of approximate parallelism the legs diverge slightly or are bowed outwardly away from the longitudinal axis of the spike to define an interval between their adjacent surfaces. The head of the spike is formed by a greater divergence of the two leg portions of the spike structure to providea yielding head or knob which on its outer surface presents a striking face arranged at least regionally in alignment with the longitudinal axis Of the spike. With appropriate relations between the dimensions of the spike hole in a tie plate and the spike, the spike when driven thus exerts at the hole in the ti plate a downward pressure holding the tie plate firmly against a tie. Preferably, as shown, a region of the legs intervening between the head portion of the spike and the region of slight leg divergence is one in which the legs of the spike are approximately parallel but have a substantial interval or gap between them. Preferably the band initially is a single length of metal and the spike is formed wholly by bending. If desired, however, the band may be initially in two pieces integrated as by' Welding after the pieces have been shaped individually to form.

In the accompanying drawings exemplary of an embodiment of my invention:

Fig. I is a side elevation of one form of my resilient railway spike.

Fig. II is a fragmentary side elevation showing the upper or rearward part of the spike shown in Fig. I driven through the spike hole in a tie plate and into a railway tie to which the tie plate is secured, the tie plate and the tie being shown in section.

Fig. III is a side elevation of a modified form of my resilient railway spike.

Fig. IV is a fragmentary side elevation of the upper or rearward part of the spike shown in Fig. III showing the spike driven through the spike hole in a tie plate and into a railway tie to which the tie plate is secured, the tie plate and tie being shown in section.

Fig. V is a horizontal sectional view taken in the plane of the section line VV of Fig. II.

Referring initially to Figs. I and II of the drawings, the railway spike designated generally by reference numeral l is composed of a band of resilient metal, preferably steel and which is shown as approximately rectangular in cross section. At the upper or rearward end of the spike structure the metal band is shaped to provide a head 2. The forward or lower part of the spike terminates at the entering or penetrating end 3 at which the two free terminals of the metal band are brought into contact or close juxtaposition and desirably are beveled to facilitate penetration. For a substantial distance along the body of the spike from the entering end 3 the two legs 4 and 5 lie in approximate parallelism and then diverge slightly through. lengths or regions id and 5a of the legs to provide a separating gap 6- between them. In the next longitudinal region of the spike, lengths 4b and 5b are substantially separated and as shown are approximately parallel toeach other.

The head portion 2 of the spike is formed by amarked divergence, or outward flare, of at least one of the legs in the leg regions and to provide a structure having the general shape of an. inverted U with the legs inclined toward each other and with its upper face desirably somewhat fiattened as shown. This structure is defined by the portions 4'0 and 5c of the legs and the connecting bridge or region 2a which provides the: striking face of head portion 2. It will be noted that the connecting structure of bridge 2a-. and the striking surface which it presents are in alignment with the longitudinal axis of thespike structure as a whole and as'shown are arranged symmetrically with respect to that longitudinal axis. It thus is a simple matter to drive the spike into matching spike holes in a tie plate and the tie to which it is to be attached by means of straight blows on the head of the spike which are transmitted along the longitudinal axis of the spike to its penetrating end.

In forcing the spike through a hole a in tie plate A and into a prepared hole b in a railway tie B, the holes are brought into proper alignment and spike lis driven through the hole in the tie plate and into the prepared hole of the tie. It is to be understood that at least as used by an individual transportation company, or in a particular section of a railway, there is a fixed dimension of the holes in the tie plate and tieand accidental departure from such prescribed dimension is not great. Itis therefore possible to make a spike in accordance with my invention regionally oversize in desired order with respect to the holes in the tie plate and railway tie through and into which it is to pass. On the assumption that such oversize relation exists, the spike is driven into the aligned holes of the tie plate and tie by blows delivered on the effectively solid head of the spike. In the driving the forward or lower region of the spike in which its legs 4 and 5 are approximately parallel passes readily through the hole a of the tie plate and into the prepared hole 2) of the tie. With a desired relation between the dimensions of the tie plate hole and the spike, there is initial compression of the spike when the slightly tapered region, or length, of the spike lies in the spike hole a, with consequent decrease in the lateral dimension of the gap between the legs in that region. At this stage of driving the faces of the portions 4a and 5a of the spike legs do not lie squarely against the opposed faces of th spike hole in the tie plate, because the inclination of the spike legs in this region leaves gaps in the lower region of the spike hole. When, however, driving has progressed to such stage that the approximately parallel lengths or portions 4b and 5b of the spike legs lie within the spike hole of the tie plate, opposite outer faces of the spike in its compressed condition lie squarely in contact with and bear against the walls of the spike hole throughout the entire depth of the latter, as is shown in Fig. V of the drawings. As is shown in this figure; of the drawings, each of the spike legs desirably is so dimensioned that its width is equal to substantially twice its thickness. Such dimensioning conforms to the dimensioning of the spike holes in standard tie plates commonly used in railway track construction.

As driving progresses the lengths, or regions, ia 5a, eb'5b of the spike legs 4 and 5 enter the hole b in the tie B and this portion of the spike is compressed therein. Because of the compression of the spike shank against the walls of the hole in the tie the spike exerts a yielding force directed longitudinally of the tie and transversely of the tie plate A, firmly and positively' interengaging' the tie plate and the tie. As an incident of this engagement the divergent legs 40 and 5c are to some extent forced into the hole a in the tie late, the more firmly to engage it in the manner shown in Fig. II of the drawings. As there shown, theg'ap 6 in what may be considered. the primary locking portion of the spike is substantially decreased its lateral, or transverse, dimension; and the gap 1 of approximately V-shape lying within the head portion 2 of the spike is also regionally decreased in lateral dimension, with the intervalbetween the legsiof the spike in the region of the tie" plate hole more nearly closed than inthe uncompressed condition of the spike.

An important functional feature of the spike isthat under suchconditions it exerts a; vertically' directed resilient force as well as a laterally directed resilient force ohthe tie plate. Thus referring again to Fig. II of the drawings, it will be seen that when the spike is driven beyond the point at which the marked divergence between the legs to form the head portion of the spike begins, the compression of the spike exerts a downwardwed'girig effect as well as a lateral binding. effect on: the tie plate;

Also the head portion of the spike being so shaped that the. bridge element 2' between the 1 leg portions 40 and 5c limits bodily approach of those leg portions toward each other when the spike is driven, this limitation to bodily movement of the legs toward each other above the tie plate tends to distribute the points of flexion throughout those regions of the spike in which its legs are separated. B thus distributing flexion along the legs of the spike and avoiding undue localized fiexion in any region of the spike, fatigue of the metal of which the spike is composed is lessened and the useful life of the spike is increased. Also the reactive pressure exerted laterally of the spike is increased, with consequent increase in the security of the engagement and with decrease in the tendency to cause throat cutting of the spike because of loosening tendencies.

The tightness of engagement of the spike legs against the tie plate and the sides of the tie plate hole and the bounding surface of the hole in the tie, insures maintenance of proper rail gauge by forcefull maintaining a stationary position of the tie plate, so that repeated slight shifting movement of the tie plate cannot strike laterally against the spike so totilt the spike as to enlarge the spike hole in the tie. When the spike is driven to its final position, the upper region has support or bearing points in the continuous bridge of the spike head 2a and at the point of convergence of the legs below the tie plate. The reaction from the compression of the spike at the point of the support below the tie plate with base support in the head of the spike, tends to force the legs 4 and 5 apart below the point of convergence with the greatest spreading efiect at the terminal ends 3 of the legs, this produces a resilient force of the spike legs in the spike hole of the tie firmly gripping th spike and tie plate in and to the tie. As shown in Fig. IV of the drawings, the bridgein the continuous headof the spike which provides one bearing point and the point of convergence of the legs underlying the tie plate are spaced approximately equidistantly from the horizontal center line of the tie plate hole; and this spreading gives maximum spreading effect at the free terminals of the spike legs. Also this tight engagement insures against abrasion of the tie by repeated slight shifting movement of th tie plate.

It will be observed in Fig. II of the drawings that the resilient force exerted by the driven spike on the tie is directed longitudinally of the tie 5 and does not tend to spread the grain of-the wood therein. This greatly decreases the tendency for the driving of. the spike to split the tie. The simple structure of thespike with its head region arranged in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the spike allows it to be driven with its head in any position with respect to the when driven through one of the lag hOles of the tie plate simply to secure the tie plate to the tie. The latter use, however, as illustrated in Figs. II and IV of the drawings may be considered as the primary utility of the spike.

Considering specifically the modified form of my railway spike shown in Figs. III and IV of the drawings, it will be understood that the lower portion of the spike shank and the head portion of the spike are identical with corresponding portions of the spike as shown in Figs. I and II. In the form of Figs. III and IV, however, the straight line divergence of the legs in the portion or length 4a5a is replaced by a length or portion Bat-9a in which the legs are bowed outwardly away from the longitudinal axis of the spike. As shown in Fig. IV this region of outwardly bowing has been driven through the spike hole in the tie plate and into the prepared hole in the tie. As so fully driven the outwardly bowed region 8a9a of the spike legs 8 and 9 exerts a particularly great resilient force against the bounding wall of the spike hole in the tie and clinches beneath the under surface of the tie plate.

I have found that the removal of the spike when once wedged firmly in the tie requires the exertion of a directl applied withdrawing force of particularly great severity. Because of the fact that the regional bowing is resilient, it is possible to drive this bowed region of the spike through the spike hole in the tie into the position shown in Fig. IV in which it exerts an outward force in the spike hole of the tie and provides a locking spread beneath the under surface of the tie plate. Because of the fact, noted above in connection with the specific form of spike shown in Figs. I and II of the drawings, that the spike may be driven to exert its resilient force longitudinally of the tie and without tending to spread the grain Of the wood therein, this modified form of spike also may be firmly driven without splitting the tie.

Like the form of spike shown in my parent application Serial No. 32,579, filed June 12, 194.8,

' and now abandoned, both modifications of the spike as herein shown provide a resilient, selfand avoids the. necessity of forming holes of special shape in the tie and tie plate, or in a specializ'ed location in the tieplate, in order to obtain full locking action of the spike.

It will be noted that not only is the'head portion of the spike adapted particularly to driving b the transmission of hammer blows directly along the longitudinal axis of the spike, but also the bulge of the head above the tie plate when the spike is driven provides for engagement by a simple withdrawing tool such as a claw bar. Also it will be understood that the bulge of the head portion of the spike'adapt it for driving into I locking railway spike while providing an effectively solid driving head upon which hammer blows may be directly delivered at and along the longitudinal axis of the spike. Likewise, the spike exerts on a tie plate through the spike hole of which it is driven'a resilient force directed along the longitudinal axis of the spike and exerted on the tie plate at the spike hole therein, firmly to hold the tie plate to the tie.

It is to be understood that the cross-sectional shape of the band may be other than rectan-f having an inverted approximately U-shape effectively solid driving head presenting a striking face in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the spike, the two legs of the driving headbeing substantially straight and converging to form a relatively narrow wedge-form region the free ends of which are spaced apart, said wedge-form region lying below and in line with the striking face of the said head to exert a resilient force directed both laterally and axially of the spike upon compression of the lower region of the said driving head in the spike hole of a tie plate, from the said driving head the said two legs extending in spaced relation in a direction generally parallel to th axis of the spike to a point of convergence in a region removed from the said driving head and then extending in close approximately parallel initial relation to the entering end of the spike, the axes of said legs lying substantially in a single plane.

2. A resilient railway spike in accordance with the definition of claim 1 in which the said spike is formed of a one-piece band of resilient metal and the entering end of the spike includes free terminals of said band.

3. A resilient railwa spike in accordance with the definition of claim 1 in which the spike is symmetrical about its longitudinal axis and in which said rectangular band of metal has a width which is equal to substantially twice the thickness thereof.

4. A resilient railway spike in accordance with the definition of claim 1 in which the spike is formed of a one-piece band of resilient metal and in which the driving head is shaped by a continuous bend of the same approximately perpendicular to and crossing the longitudinal axis of the spike to form an effectively solid blow receiving structure arranged to transmit blows directly along the longitudinal axis of the spike.

5. A resilient railway spike formed of a band of resilient metal rectangular in cross-section and having an inverted approximately U-shape effectively solid driving head presenting a striking face in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the spike, the two legs of the driving head being substantially straight and converging to form a relatively narrow wedge-form region the free ends of which are spaced apart, said wedge-form region lying below and in line with the striking face of the said head to exert a resilient force directed both laterally and axially of the spike upon compression of the lower region of the said driving head in the spike hole of a tie plate, from the said driving head the said two legs extending in spaced relation in a direction generally parallel to the axis of the spike through a region including outwardly slightly bowed portions of the legs to a point of convergence in a region removed from the said driving head and then ext nding in close approximately parallel initial relation to the entering end of the'spike, the

the definition of claim 5 in which the said spike 6 is formed of a one-piece band of resilient metal r 8" r and the entering end of the spike includes free terminals of said band.

7. A resilient railway spike in accordance with the definition of claim 5 in which the spike is symmetrical about its longitudinal axis and in which said rectangular band of metal has a width which is equal to substantially twice the thickness thereof.

8. A resilient railway spike in accordance with the definition of claim 5 in which the spike is formed of a one-piece band of resilient metal and in which the driving head is shaped by a continuous bend of the same approximately perpendicular to and crossing the longitudinal axis of the spike to form an efiectively solid blow receiving structure arranged to transmit blows directly along the longitudinal axis of the spike.

9. A resilient railway spike formed of a onepiece band of resilient steel having an inverted approximately U-shape efiectively solid driving head presenting a striking face in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the spike, the two legs of the driving head being substantially. straight and converging to form a relatively narrow wedgeforrn region the free ends of which are spaced apart, said wedge-form region lying below and in line with the striking face of the said head to exert a resilient force directed both laterally and axially of the spike upon compression of the lower region of the said driving head in the spike holeof a tie plate, from the said driving head the said two legs extending in spaced relation in a direction generally parallel to the axis of the spike to a point of convergence in a region removed from the said driving head and then extending in close approximately parallel initial relation to the entering end of the spike, the axes of said'l'egs lyingsubstantially in a single plane and the entering end of the spike including the free terminals of said band.

ARTHUR C. JACK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 500,162 Smith June 27, 1893 707,756 Brown Aug. 26, 1902 1,171,617 Light Feb. 15, 1916 2.150359 Woodings Mar. 14, 1939 2,257,641 Muller Sept. 30, 1941 2,266,689 Lemison Dec, 16, 1941 2,290,993 Preston July 28, 1942 2,365,545 Graham et a1 Dec. 19, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number 7 Country Date 438,705 Great Britain Nov. 21, 1935 

